This book describes nine transplanted Poles who participated in the
Civil War. They span three generations and are connected by culture,
nationality and adherence to their principles and ideals. The common
thread that runs through their lives―the Polish White Eagle―is that they
came from a country that had basically disintegrated at the end of the
previous century, yet they carried the concepts of freedom they
inherited from their forefathers to the New World to which they
immigrated. Once in America the pre-war political feuds, ferocious
ensuing battles, captures, prison camp escapes and privations of
war―often in the words of the soldiers themselves―are fully described.
More highly trained in warfare than their American brethren―and
certainly more inured to struggles for nationhood― the Poles made a more
significant contribution to Civil war combat than is usually described.
The first group had fought in the 1830 war for freedom from the Russian
Empire. The European revolutionary struggles of the 1840’s molded the
next generation. The two of the youngest generation came of age just as
the Civil War began, entered military service as enlisted men and
finished as officers. Of the group, four sided with the North and four
with the South, and the other began in the Confederate cavalry and
finished fighting for the Union side. All but one came from aristocratic
backgrounds. In a war commonly categorized as a “brother against
brother,” a struggle between two American regions, history has not
devoted a great deal of attention to the participation of Poles, and
foreigners in general. These men fought with a belief in European
democratic liberalism. Whether for the North to keep a Union together or
to form a new nation from the Southern states, they held to their
ideals, and in America’s own greatest conflict continued to fight for
their beliefs. Nominated for the Gilder Lehrman Prize

About the Author

Mark Bielski is a director at Stephen Ambrose Historical
Tours and the Ambrose Institute in New Orleans, where he is involved in
business and educational development, historical guiding, lecturing and
itinerary design for tours that primarily involve World War II and the
American Civil War. He has a Ph.D. in History from the University of
Birmingham (England), and an M.A. and B.A. in English from Georgetown
and Tulane Universities, respectively. His career has involved
academics, history and journalism, and he is a member of the American
Historical Association and the Society for Military History.